10 gifts that developers will love this holiday season

The holidays are right around the corner; are you ready? If you’re not sure what to ask Santa, here’s a list of our top 10 favorite tech gifts for 2017.

Ahh, the holiday season. As everyone scrambles to get their loved ones the perfect gift, it can be difficult to figure out what you actually want for Hanukkah or Saturnalia. If you’re not ready for it, stores and the Amazon homepage can be incredibly perplexing with a riot of colors and products. Without a game plan, you get confused. And then – horror of horrors – you start thinking to yourself that the thing your loved ones want most in life is an iron or possibly a fancy mop.

We’re here to save your from yourself. This year, we’ve come up with 10 great gifts for any developer in your life. Maybe not everything is your cup of tea, but there’s something for everyone on this list.

In no particular order, here’s what we’re all asking Santa for this year.

Gifts for the office

1. World’s Okayest Engineer mug, $11.19

Hey, statistically speaking, someone has to be the okayest. And we’re okay with that. Express your averageness with this hilarious mug to sip out of at any office meeting or scrum session. Just, maybe don’t bring it to any evaluations. In any case, this mug is dishwasher and microwave safe. Get it at Society6 here.

Like many developers, you probably work in an open office. And there’s nothing worse than trying to concentrate when your office buddies are having a loud conversation ten feet away from you. Sure, you could listen to music, but one of the nice things about living in the 21st century is the tech solutions for life’s little problems. In this case, the answer is these noise cancelling headphones from CB3.

The CB3 HUSH boasts the bang for your buck if you want noise cancelling headphones. The sound quality is pretty choice too. However, they do have an average battery life.

3. Das Keyboard 4 Professional, $149

Perfection isn’t cheap, but this keyboard comes close. Given how much time we spend at our desks, having a decent keyboard is crucial for a productive work performance. A superb typing experience and excellent new features characterize the mechanical Das Keyboard 4, but those benefits don’t come cheap. It’s also PC Mag’s Editors’ Choice for general-purpose mechanical keyboards.

4. 2018 Demotivators wall calendar, $16.00

The folks over at Despair, Inc. have come up with another best: a darkly hilarious calendar for the office that shows off your enthusiasm and team spirit. Maybe save this for a job you’re not fond of? But still, it’ll give you and your colleagues something to snicker over while you get through another work week.

5. Succulent Garden, $29.99

Office plants have such a bad rap for being boring. But did you know they’re actually great at things like air purification? (And incredibly cheaper than the Coway AP-1512HH Mighty Air Purifier, which will set you back a cool $228.) Plus, these succulents are low maintenance and can survive a while without being watered. So, if you’re too busy at work, your poor plants won’t suffer. This gift is perfect for any desk and brightens up any cubicle.

Fun and games

6. Nintendo Switch, $299.99

7. Razer Deathadder Elite Gaming Mouse, $49.99

Yeah, okay, this could maybe work for the office as well. But this gaming mouse boasts comfortable contours, with a smooth, matte plastic finish, grippy rubber on the sides and scroll wheel, a pair of customizable and easily reachable thumb buttons, and a footprint that’s substantial but not over-sized. Plus, it looks hella cool.

In a galaxy far, far away

8. Star Wars Darth Vader Men’s / Women’s Blazer, $119.99 / $99.99

Dress to oppress with this fabulous Darth Vader blazer for any formal affair. Whether you’re crushing rebel scum or chiding the marketing team for their disturbing lack of faith, this single-breasted jacket will intimidate all and signal your seriousness. The subtle Imperial stylings include buttons showing off your loyalty to the Empire, silver and grey lining with the Death Star interior lighting pattern, and embroidered control panel lights on the left chest.

Men’s blazers are available here, women’s blazers are available here from ThinkGeek.

9. BB-8 App-Enabled Droid, $129.99

Porgs may be the next big thing in The Last Jedi, but this orange and white astromech stole our hearts and the map to Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens. You can control this BB unit with an app on your smartphone or have it patrol your house. The tech within BB-8 allows it to roll and move his dome just like on-screen. BB-8 interacts with other official Star Wars droids, whether you’ve got a R2D2 or a BB-9E.

10. Star Wars Droid Inventor Kit, $99.00

This is definitely the droid you’re looking for. This award winning kit makes it easy to build and program your very own R2D2. Although it’s aimed at the younger generation, it’s a great introduction to coding for any age. The droid comes with an app to help in the building process as well as introduce over 16 “missions”.